Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol. 71, No. 19 pp. 5764–5770, 2020 doi:10.1093/jxb/eraa312 Advance Access Publication 3 July 2020 This paper is available online free of all access charges (see http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/open_access.html for further details) REVIEW PAPER Shades of green: untying the knots of green photoperception Martin W. Battle1, , Franco Vegliani2 and Matthew A. Jones2,*, 1 School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, UK 2 Institute of Molecular, Cell, and Systems Biology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK * Correspondence:
[email protected] Received 24 April 2020; Editorial decision 25 June 2020; Accepted 30 June 2020 Editor: Christine Foyer, University of Birmingham, UK Abstract The development of economical LED technology has enabled the application of different light qualities and quan- tities to control plant growth. Although we have a comprehensive understanding of plants’ perception of red and blue light, the lack of a dedicated green light sensor has frustrated our utilization of intermediate wavelengths, with many contradictory reports in the literature. We discuss the contribution of red and blue photoreceptors to green light perception and highlight how green light can be used to improve crop quality. Importantly, our meta-analysis dem- onstrates that green light perception should instead be considered as a combination of distinct ‘green’ and ‘yellow’ light-induced responses. This distinction will enable clearer interpretation of plants’ behaviour in response to green light as we seek to optimize plant growth and nutritional quality in horticultural contexts. Keywords: Green light, horticulture, LED, photobiology, photoperception, photoreceptor. Introduction: light provides both energy and information to inform plant development Light is a multifaceted signal for plants, providing comprehensive photosynthesis.